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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Revised April 04, 2001
Media Contact: James Kraemer at: 2safeschools
Can be reprinted without charge by giving credit to 2safeschools.org

Death at the school bus stop - what happens, how it happens and how to prevent it

IN LOVING MEMORY
Aleana Johnson, 5
On Tuesday January 9, 2001, stepped off of her school bus and was run over, crushed and killed instantly by her school bus. She never had a chance.

Click on picture to visit 2safeschools Memorial. Don't let these lives pass unnoticed.
More kids die at their school bus stop, many run over by their own school bus, than die in the 55,000 school bus crashes that occur in the United States each year. Here's information school staff and parents need to help prevent death at the school bus stop.

DEATH AT THE SCHOOL BUS STOP - WHAT HAPPENS, HOW IT HAPPENS AND HOW TO PREVENT IT, by James Kraemer, published October 07, 2000, Copyright ©2000, 2001 by 2safeschools, All Rights Reserved. Can be reprinted without charge by giving credit to 2safeschools.org

The school bus stop is by far the most dangerous part of the trip for children traveling back and forth to school on America's school buses. Four out of every five children killed in a school bus related incident were killed while in the process of boarding or departing their school bus, according to the Pupil Transportation Institute.

When kids forget, ignore, disobey or are mistrained in safe practices at their bus stop, or while boarding and departing their bus, they risk themselves and others becoming a part of the growing list of children permanently injured or killed at the bus stop.

Children walking in front of the bus, so close to the bus that the driver can not see the child, or walking along side the bus, are major causes of kids run over by their own bus. Kids late to their bus stop running across the road to catch their bus or dashing back across the road after departing their bus, also risk death from motorists as well as the bus they are chasing.

Another increasing risk is the easy prey children left unsupervised provide child predators, gangs, when kids at their own bus stop act out toward each other and the sometimes fatal encounters with motorists.

Keeping kids safe at the bus stop starts before the bus arrives. Just as the well trained bus driver (an adult) is the most effective safety device on the school bus, this is also the case when transportation departments establish safe bus stop locations and parents are present at the bus stops. Many of the safety issues, especially child abductions, virtually evaporate when adult supervision is present.

Student behavior on the bus, prior to arrival at the bus stop, is also critical to helping keep kids safe when students are boarding and departing their bus. Student behavior must not be so out-of-control on the bus that the behavior interferes with the driver's concentration.

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One-half the time, the child is run over by his or her own bus, the remainder by other motorists, according to a 1999-2000 annual survey performed by the Kansas State Dept. of Education., School Bus Safety Education Unit. Three times as many pupils are killed outside the bus at bus stops as are on the inside, by crashes; half the students killed by the school bus are struck from the front and the remainder are struck by the side or rear of the bus, according to CNN Facts (1985-1996 school bus stop deaths analysis).

The bus driver must concentrate on what is happening out side the bus at bus stops. Any distraction from this important bus driver's task can result in a sudden and unchangeable tragedy. Training students on the bus to remain seated, talk quietly, stay out of the bus aisle and to keep hands to self is as important as training kids in safe practices at their bus stops.

Effective training of bus drivers on how to train kids is another critical, yet, often overlooked component toward helping to keep kids safe. Kids can be trained to practice safe conduct, but for parents and school staff to have an effective roll, in helping to establish a safe environment for children, they must have effective information that actually helps keep kids safe.

Here is the information 2safeschools collected from some of America's best bus drivers on how to help keep kids safe at school bus stops:

  • Adult supervision is critical at bus stops and recognizing this first step goes' far toward establishing a safe environment for kids. Parents can form a school bus stop watch agreement with each other, their school and law enforcement, to collaborate a safety effort for maintaining adult supervised childrens' activities at the bus stops.

    While waiting for the bus:

  • Be at the bus stop 5 minutes early -- train each child specificlly what to do next if they miss the bus;
  • Stay back from the road;
  • Be observant of anything unusual -- know the rules of preventing abductions;
  • No Horseplay near the road or around the bus;
  • Walk toward the bus only after the bus has come to a complete stop and the bus door has opened;
  • Board promptly, politely and quietly;
  • Promptly choose a seat, stay seated, keep self and belongings out of the aisle, talk quietly.
  • The bus door should not close until the students have taken their seats and have cleared the aisle.

    When departing the bus:

  • Be ready to depart promptly and quietly;
    CHECK THAT BUS!

    • Find out how to safety check a field trip bus before allowing it to depart with kids on board.
    Click Here

    • FREE School Bus Safety Video
    Click Here

    • 2SAFESCHOOLS Transportation Policy Recommendation
    Click Here
  • Wait for bus to stop and door to open before standing up;
  • When crossing, walk about 10 feet away from the bus, then walk at least 10 feet forward the bus and stand out of the path of the bus wheels;
  • Wait for driver eye contact and signal before crossing at least 10 feet in front of the bus;
  • Groups should not cross until all are ready to cross, then should walk across together and after checking that the bus safety crossing lights are working;
  • Wise kids keep aware of traffic while crossing;
  • Students not crossing should stay 10 feet away from side of the bus.
  • The bus door should not close and the bus should not move until students have cleared the bus, including the rear of the bus, by about 10 feet.

    The 13 bad things kids must not do at bus stops:

    (1) Push other students, "play chicken" with traffic or the bus, or any other horseplay around the bus;
    (2) Stand where the bus driver can't see you;
    (3) Stand in the path of the bus wheels;
    (4) Walk (or run) toward the bus door as the bus approaches;
    (5) Run across the road at bus stops;
    (6) Cross behind the bus;
    (7) Cross before making eye contact with the driver;
    (8) Cross before receiving agreed driver signal to cross;
    (9) Cross after other kids have already crossed without first making eye contact with the bus driver and receiving new signal to cross from the bus driver;
    (10) Walk along side bus touching windows or other horseplay;
    (11) Run back to the bus for something;
    (12) Crawl under the bus to get something;
    (13) Run along side a moving bus or chase the bus down the road.

    Help the bus driver keep kids safe: Train kids to follow the bus driver's directions and practice the skill of courtesy. (jk)

    jk Pix James Kraemer & 2safeschools
    2safeschools is a volunteer information source, independent of government or school bus industry funding, established for the purpose and benefit of parents, school staff and the press involved in the effort to help save one child's life. James Kraemer helps manage the five 2safeschools related Web sites. Kraemer is also a veteran school bus driver and advocate for childerns' safety at school and on the school buses. He believes, "Children depend on and trust the adults in their lives to keep them safe. When that trust is violated all the good things that adulthood represents to children is violated." Kraemer keeps this 'guiding belief' at the core of every issue he presents.

    Free Training Presentation - Can be used without charge by giving credit to 2safeschools, www.delphi.com/2safeschools
    Free Danger Zone Flyer - Free browser printable flyer, "Danger at the school bus stop," covering bus stop safety. Recommend minimum 300 dpi, may have to scale down printer output on some printers.
    Yellow Tin Can - Free Bus Stop Safety Flyers, newsletter attachment templates, coloring books and more at 2safeschools Yellow Tin Can.
    School bus loading and unloading - From the School Transportation Section of the National Safety Council, includes fact sheet from the Texas Dept. of Public Safety and additional loading/unloading procedures.
    PTSI Resource Catalog - Coloring books, manuals, videos, books, training, consultation, supplies & much more! .PDF Acrobat Reader format. From the Pupil Transportation Safety Institute.

    The summary videos here were inspired by the parents of 7-year-old, Tara Bates. Tara died after being run over by a school bus outside her elementary school in Lakeville, Minnesota. (See IN LOVING MEMORY below): Video - A summary of the rules of riding the school bus and: Video - Three school bus safety rules explained

    6 Steps to Improved School Site Safety -- By Ken Laue, School Bus Fleet magazine: Site design, driver training, parent education and adequate supervision are key factors in reducing traffic congestion and safety hazards in school loading and unloading zones.
    Sharon's school bus safety stop -- A Western Massachusetts bus driver since 1989, Website helps inform parents about school buses and safety.
    School Bus Safety Quiz -- fun place for parents to check their child's bus safety knowledge. From M & O Bus Lines, Ottawa, Canada.
    Safe Sam Coloring Book -- From Collins Bus Corporation, the small school bus company. (pdf format)
    Kids School Bus Safety Activity Page-- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Kid's Page!
    How Children Can Help Keep From Being Abducted - Here are some good tips to teach children.
    How to be a Predator-Smart Kid -- Find out how kids can escape the snares predators lay. The stories in the GEMs (Great Escape Maneuvers) program are all true.
    In Loving Memory - Memorial sites of school and school bus victims.
    Michael's Death - A mom writes about the day a school bus accident changed her life forever.
    Aleana's Death - On Tuesday January 9, 2001; Aleana Johnson, 5, stepped off of her school bus and was run over, crushed and killed instantly by her school bus. She never had a chance.
    Jimmy's Story - Don't leave the choice of whether your children live or die in the hands of a sexual predator!
    A Mother's Story - What this mom did when the school and therapy failed her out-of-control son. Excellent reading for Parents and School Staff dealing with an out-of-control teen and nothing else has worked.

    (Death at the school bus stop -, Rev. 04-04-01)
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